Unmanned and Autonomous Systems Strategy Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator McCormick, David [R-PA]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would require the Secretary of Defense to develop a strategy for integrating unmanned and autonomous systems across the Indo-Pacific and the Western Hemisphere. It would set a 180-day deadline for the strategy and require annual briefings to Congress through 2030.
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- Military planners would get a unified assessment of capability gaps and operational needs across maritime, air, littoral, and undersea domains, including undersea surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strike, counter-unmanned operations, logistics, and communications relay. The strategy must catalog the types, numbers, and performance attributes of unmanned aircraft systems and unmanned undersea vehicles available for deployment.
- Allies and defense industry would get a roadmap for co-design, co-development, co-production, and interoperability with partners such as Australia, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Ukraine, and with AUKUS participants.
- Acquisition and supply-chain managers would receive a procurement plan identifying near-, mid-, and long-term investments, rapid acquisition pathways, and vulnerabilities consistent with the American Security Drone Act of 2023. The strategy would also cover U.S. homeland security missions to counter narcotics, trafficking, and transnational criminal organizations in the Western Hemisphere.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
DoD unmanned systems strategy plan
This bill would require the Secretary of Defense to make a full strategy for unmanned air, surface, and undersea systems. The plan would cover the Indo-Pacific and the Western Hemisphere and include counter‑narcotics and maritime interdiction missions. It would identify numbers and types of UAS, USVs, and UUVs, assess AI/autonomy, propulsion, sensors, launch/recovery, and survivability. The strategy would include near-, mid-, and long-term procurement and supply‑chain plans consistent with the American Security Drone Act and must be sent to congressional defense committees within 180 days of enactment.
Annual unmanned systems briefings
This bill would require the Secretary of Defense to brief congressional defense committees within one year after the strategy is submitted, and then annually through 2030. Each briefing would cover implementation status, changes in adversary unmanned capabilities and behavior, allied co‑development and interoperability progress, procurements and deployments, and recommended strategy updates.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
McCormick, David [R-PA]
PA • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA]
PA • D
Sponsored 5/21/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov